CE Mark for STJ's ILUMIEN OPTIS - Analyst Blog

By: Zacks.com

Posted: 5/17/2013 2:29:00 PM

Referenced Stocks: ATRC;CPTS;FFR;MYGN;PCI

Medical devices major,
St. Jude Medical Inc.
(
STJ
) has won CE Mark approval for its ILUMIEN OPTIS Percutaneous
Coronary Intervention (PCI) Optimization System. This
intravascular imaging technology is an advanced version of the
company's Ilumien System from the cardiovascular products
portfolio, which is used to treat coronary artery disease.

In Mar 2013, the company had launched the ILUMIEN OPTIS in
Japan. However, the loss of a Japanese distributor is adversely
affecting St. Jude's Cardiovascular business of late. Apart from
lower expectations from third-party products distributed in
Japan, management lowered guidance for 2013 on account of the
disappointing 1Q13 results and currency adjustments. The company
now expects the Cardiovascular segment to grow 3%-5% (earlier
6%-9%) on a constant currency basis in 2013 on the back of a
change in sales mix from declining legacy products to high growth
offerings.

St. Jude is aggressively working toward improving its
declining top-line performance on the back of new offerings. We
believe that the CE Mark of the new ILUMIEN OPTIS device should
add to total sales in the European Union, given its cutting-edge
features. Recently, the company also received CE Mark approval
for its Ellipse ICDs with SJM Assura CRT-Ds, Allure Quadra CRT-P
as well as for its Brio Libra and LibraXP deep brain stimulation
("DBS") product line.

St. Jude currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). While we remain
on the sidelines regarding STJ, as its core CRM division is still
underperforming, other medical stocks such as
Conceptus
(
CPTS
),
Myriad Genetics
(
MYGN
) and
AtriCure
(
ATRC
) warrant a look. While Conceptus and Myriad carry a Zacks Rank
#1 (Strong Buy), ATRC carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).